Here’s a little mealtime trick I thought I’d pass along. (If you use Irish oats, you can consider this a St. Patrick’s Day post.)
My son loves oatmeal, but doesn’t like waiting for it to cool down after I make it. If I add cold milk when it’s done, it ends up too soupy. My solution is to make it with only 2/3 or so of the recommended amount of water. This is sufficient to cook it, but leaves it dense enough that I can then add extra milk to bring it quickly down to the right temperature and consistency.
The trick above should work for either instant or regular oats, through I’m partial to the latter. It really takes about the same amount of time to cook in a microwave as the instant stuff. This also lets me control the flavorings and amount of sweetener. I’m partial to a dash of cinnamon, some chopped apple and/or dried cranberries, and a touch of maple syrup.
What are your favorite oatmeal add-ons? And where is the worst place your child ever got it stuck (hair, ceiling, family pet)?
I don’t have children, but I like your oatmeal suggestion. Does it cook any faster if you use less water? I’d imagine it heats up a bit faster.
i like to stir in apple sauce to my oatmeal (keeps it from getting soupy, cools it down, and tastes like apples :)). I also like cranberries, and the simple brown sugar + milk combination.
I’m with you on adding less liquid, Dana…I’ve done that for years. Another idea: cook with milk instead of water. It takes some tweaking the time in the microwave, but I love the texture.
Does the fact that my kids’ favorite oatmeal add-in is ice cream sprinkles make me a bad parent?
I add frozen blueberries and raspberries to my oatmeal each morning to cool it quickly. They thaw out almost immediately, and the oatmeal cools down.
If you’re trying to cool soup or mac and cheese you can add some frozen peas.
I have 2 of my kids who are basically addicted to oatmeal for breakfast.
My 5 year old son gets up, toddles over to me, and demands his oatmeal. To which the 3 year old daughter chimes in for hers. They prefer it as instant oatmeal with a little less water than instructions say. My partner has not gotten the knack yet- so this remains my duty every morning. And NEVER, ever microwaved. They prefer the water be boiled and mixed in. Microwaving alters the texture to where neither will accept it.
Both only like brown sugar and the tiniest amount of milk- just to cool it down a bit.
Ooh, looks like we have a bunch of oatmeal connoisseurs here. I especially like the frozen fruit idea.
DivaJean: Isn’t it funny how kids will latch on to one parent or the other for specific things?
Allyson: I’d say ice cream sprinkles do not a bad parent make. There’s probably still less sugar than in most commercial kids’ cereals. (I think I read somewhere about a mom who could only get her child to eat vegetables if she added sprinkles, but I don’t remember the source.)
Here’s an oatmeal cold weather camping tip:
Boil hot water at night and add to non-instant oatmeal in a Nalgene. You can bring along pre-mixed oats + brown sugar + dried fruit. Add less water than you normally would and screw the lid on tight. Toss the bottle to the bottom of your sleeping bag and when you crawl in later your bag will already be warm. In the morning you can add a bit more hot water from the kettle (a little bit of coffee also works if that’s the only hot liquid available) and have breakfast to go. Or you can pour servings for the kids into individual bowls.